


Truth Will Out

by Lindsey_Kkay



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Bisexual Barry Allen, F/M, Hurt Barry Allen, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Barry Allen, M/M, Multi, Sad Barry Allen, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 17:11:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15005510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lindsey_Kkay/pseuds/Lindsey_Kkay
Summary: Barry Allen has been pinning over not only Iris West, but her boyfriend Eddie Thawne as well. He's tried to hide it for the past year, but when he gets hit by a meta who makes people tell the truth, everything floods out.





	Truth Will Out

It hurt to watch them together. Not that Barry wasn’t used to watching someone that he liked while they didn’t feel anything back for him. He had been watching Iris all of his life. But now that he was watching Iris and Eddie, it hurt him more than he expected. He chalked it up to the fact that Iris wasn’t interested in him. Not that he was interested in both of them

Eddie had been way nicer than any other detective. Barry had been working there for a few years now, and everyone was an ass to him. Not Joe, and not so much Captain Singh, but the rest of them were all dicks. But Barry had been bullied all of his life, why would it change now. The world just liked to show how much it hated him. But Eddie, he had been nice from the start. Even when he was begging him to hide it from Joe that he was dating Iris.

So Barry did. He hid it because he would pick Iris’s happiness over his own any day. And in return Eddie would tell the guys to lay off when they were being dicks. He would bring him lunch on some days. And with all the little seemingly innocent things Eddie kept doing for Barry, he found himself slowly falling for Eddie as well. And having a crush on a couple was never a good thing. Because it never worked out.

 

“Hey Barry?” Barry looked up from the evidence that he was processing, surprised to see Eddie walking into his lab.

“Sup Eddie.” Barry busied himself with his work, trying not to look at Eddie too much. He didn’t want to weird him out by staring. Barry was already weird enough as is.

“Hey. As you know, today is my day off. I was supposed to meet Iris in an hour for dinner, but I got called in…” Barry interrupted before he could go on.

“Yeah I can cover for you, don’t worry about it. I already get yelled at enough on a daily basis, what’s a little more.” Barry shrugged. He looked up at Eddie and smiled, trying to push away his feelings all together. Feelings that were screaming at him that he should be going to dinner with them both. That he should be sharing his life with them, but of course, fate had decided that Barry Allen wasn’t good enough for love.

“No that’s not what I was going to ask you Allen.” Eddie laughed softly, shaking his head. “I know you get off in an hour, I was going to ask if you would go have dinner with Iris. I don’t want to cancel on her and you are her best friend, so I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to have dinner with you.” 

“But she probably won’t be too thrilled about the fact that her date couldn’t make it and she has to settle for me.” Barry muttered.

“I already texted her. She’s excited to catch up with you. She said she hasn’t talked with you in forever.” Eddie smiled and patted him on the back. “Pick her up at seven. She’ll tell you where to go.” Eddie left with that. Leaving Barry to his anxiety about how tonight was going to go. Little did Barry know, that it was planned for him to have dinner with Iris alone.

 

 

“I was told to pick you up at seven.” Barry rubbed the back of his neck, both of his cheeks and ears an adorable cherry red. 

“Barry!” Iris squealed, she was wearing a gorgeous red dress that made her look amazing. Barry only wished that she liked him the way he liked her, because he would have leaned in and kissed her and told her how amazing she looked in that dress, and how nicely it hugged her curves. 

Instead he settled for; “You look really nice.” 

“You don’t look so bad yourself handsome.” Barry laughed, running a hand through his hair. He knew she was obligated as a best friend to tell him he looked nice. But in all honesty he looked like a whirlwind of anxiety and stress. He had flashed home and searched his entire closet twice for something nice to wear. Finally deciding on some khakis and a light blue sweater.

“So, are you ready to go?” he asked softly. Iris smiled and linked arms with him.

“Lead the way.” Barry nodded and walked her out to the car. He opened the door for her before getting in himself and driving to the restaurant. He was beyond nervous. This felt way too much like a date.

 

“I’m sorry that you had to settle for me.” Barry sighed. Iris looked at him from across the table and frowned.

“What do you mean you’re sorry? Eddie said you were happy to come have dinner with me.” Iris looked at him with a calculating gaze.

“I’m always happy to have dinner with you Iris. But this was supposed to be a date with your boyfriend, which I am not. I know you’d rather be out with him right now, but you know… I’ll talk to Singh tomorrow about all of this. See if maybe there is something I can do next time, so Eddie can actually bring you on your date.” Barry rambled, pulling at his sweater sleeve, most likely stretching it out. He knew he would never be the ideal date.

“Barry-”

“No, I know, I was rambling. I’m sorry. H-How are you? How’s work? How’s being a reporter?” Barry asked quickly, hoping to change the subject completely.

“Work is work, like always. The boss was thinking about letting me have my own collum the other day. He wants me to write about the Flash. The only problem is that Eddie hates the Flash. So there would be no way that he would let me go around interviewing the Flash. I would have to get all of my info from the news and bystanders. I am not that sort of reporter, I like to report my own stories.” Iris launched into her tale.

Barry felt his heart clench and sink as she continued on. Talking about how she could try talking with Eddie about letting her contact the Flash but she knew he would be totally against it. Eddie hated the Flash, and that was another big reason that Barry would never get to be with the two people he currently loved the most in this world.

“Anyway, how have you been recently? I feel like its been years since we last sat down and talked like this. I miss you.” Iris smiled, leaning in.

I Love you. “I miss hanging out with you too. I’m alright. Wor has been hard lately, the guys are assholes like always.” Barry sighed.

“Do I need to come and kick some ass?” Iris looked like she was seriously about to kill someone. Thankful his phone began to ring. Thank god for Cisco and Caitlin and his duty as the Flash.

“Just one second, I need to answer this.” Barry stood and walked to the mens bathroom. He missed Iris pulling out her own phone as well. “Hello?” he asked once he had made it inside the bathroom.

“Dude, there is a metahuman out there terrorizing the city, like always. I have no idea what he’s doing to people though. He seems to shoot off this purple mist. No reports on what it does as of yet. Try not to get hit by that shit. Nothing purple and misty is ever safe dude.” Cisco said. Barry sighed, knowing that his little not date with Iris had to be cut short.

“Alright, I’ll be there in ten.” Barry muttered.

“You okay dude? You sound a little off.” Cisco sounded concerned.

“Yeah dude, Eddie had to stay late for work and had be take Iris out on the date he was supposed to. You know, the usual feeling that go along with unrequited love.” Barry rubbed the bridge of his nose, he could feel a headache coming on.

“Just… try and clear your head before you go fight this guy alright. I don’t want my best friend getting hurt.” Barry smiled and nodded even though he knew that Cisco couldn’t see it.

“Alright man, I’ll do my best. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Barry hung up the phone and sighed. How the hell did he explain this to Iris. He walked out of the bathroom and over to their table.

“Barry I know we haven’t gotten food yet but I have to go. There’s a metahuman attack going on downtown and they want me there so I can make a report.” he could tell she was desperate to get down there. Anything for a good story. Barry smiled and tossed her his keys.

“They actually need me at CCPD right now. Please don’t crash the car, and be safe out there. Meta’s are dangerous.” Barry said as pushed in his own chair. Iris leaned up and kissed his cheek before dashing outside. Once Barry knew she was gone, he walked outside and flashed to S.T.A.R. labs.

“Alright, have you figured anything else out about this guy?” Barry asked as he ran into the room. he quickly got into his suit before coming to stand in from of Cisco and Caitlin.

“Apparently his powers work as some sort of.. truth serum. If you are hit with that purple mist you can’t do anything except tell the truth.” Caitlin explained. “Please try not to get hit, but if you could also carefully get me a sample, that would be wonderful.” Caitlin handed him an empty vail. He nodded and flashed downtown.

He could see the guy, talking around looking as creepy as ever and he shot his weird purple truth mist from his hands and at people. Cisco better come up with a bomb ass name because Barry was pretty sure nobody would call him what Barry had.

“Guys, how the hell am I supposed to get close to him?” he asked through his coms.

“I don’t know dude. Run at him, catch him by surprise.” he could practically feel Cisco shrugging though the coms.

“Right.” he muttered. The guy seemed to have spotted him. He turned and was about to start coming for Barry when someone screamed for him.

“Flash!” Barry turned to see Iris, holding up a camera. He didn’t smile, making sure to vibrate his face. But the meta was closer to Iris than him. The man turned and shot his purple mist at her but Barry had just enough time to move her out of the danger zone. But Barry was hit instead.

He could hear the man laughing as he ran off. Barry wanted to scream. He was done for. This truth shit would literally be the death of him.

“You saved me.” Iris was looking up at him in awe. Barry tried to hold his tongue but the mist was already taking affect.

“I’m-” he slapped a hand over his mouth, muffeling his next words.

“What?” she asked, taking a step closer.

For some reason his hand stopped working. His arms felt limply at his sides and he couldn’t stop the word vomit from spilling from his mouth.

“I’m Barry Allen and I have wanted to tell you for so long but the night Joe found out I was the Flash he made me promise not to tell you anything. He said it was to keep you safe but that’s a line of bullshit and-” Barry flashed back to S.T.A.R. labs before he could tell her anymore.

“Barry man, you got hit.” it wasn’t a question.

“I couldn’t let him it Iris. I love her and if she got her it would kill me. And if Eddie knew that the Flash let her get her he would hate me even more. I love Eddie. I don’t want him to hate me. I just wish they loved me the way I loved them. I know that they would probably hate me even more if they knew how I felt about them. Hell, I hate myself sometimes too.” Barry gave Cisco a pleading look. Caitlin smiled softly and walked over, softly duct taping his mouth shut. 

You could still hear his rambling through the tape, but you weren’t able to make out anything he said. He could feel his phone vibrating in his suit but he didn’t dare check who it was. He was sure it was probably the three people he didn’t want to face at the moment. Iris, Eddie, and Joe.

“Cisco, please tell me you know how long this is going to last.” Caitlin gave him a pleading look.

“As of right now, I have no idea. I guess we just keep him here until his cells power through it.” Cisco shrugged. Barry turned to him with a sad look. “Oh my god dude, do not give me the puppy dog look, I was so not ready for that.” Barry reached up his hand to take the tape off of his mouth, feeling like he might be able to control his word vomit.

“I told Iris I was the Flash by accident. Because I got hit with this stuff.” Barry sighed, taking a seat in one of their many rolling chairs.

“Dude, does this mean if I ask what your deepest darkest secret is, you feel compelled to tell me?” Cisco rubbed his hands together, and evil grin on his face.

“Cisco, you will not. Barry, do you want to stay here until the effects wear off?” Caitlin asked softly.

“No, but I figure it's the best idea for now. Or I could just go and barricade myself in my apartment.” Barry shrugged.

“Would you feel more comfortable doing that?” Caitlin asked, her face was almost sad and Barry knew it was because of what he was going through.

“Yeah.” Barry nodded.

“Alright, let me just check you over real quick and then I’ll let you head home. If anyone asks us we’ll lie for you.” Caitlin smiled.

“That’s good. Because we all know I can’t lie right now.” Caitlin go an odd look on her face as she began to examine him.

“The way I have been wearing my hair lately…” Caitlin started. Barry looked at her, almost begging her not to continue. “Does it look good on me?”

“I think your hair would look a lot better parted to the left than having bangs. It makes you look a little young the way you wear it now.” Barry blurted. 

“Thank you!” 

“No fair, you get to ask him questions and I don’t.” Cisco called out. Caitlin rolled her eyes and continued her examination.

 

 

 

Barry still hadn’t checked his phone once he had gotten home. He knew he wasn’t going to like the responses he was going to get because he had blurted out to Iris that he was the Flash. Cisco, however, had gotten a few questions out of him before he had a chance to leave. Asking him what he thought of his famous nachos and how he liked the little upgrades for his suit. Barry made sure to run out of there before it had gotten too serious. He was not about to spill his guts to Cisco. Too many things he could use against him. 

 

Barry laid back on the couch and sighed. He was done for, he was just glad that he hadn’t said more to Iris out there. He was startled when someone knocked on his door. He stood and walked over to check who was there. Looking out the peep-hole, he spotted Eddie and Iris standing outside his door. Eddie lifted his his hand to knock again. 

“Allen, open up!” he called.

“I really really don’t want to do that.” Barry’s voice was shaky. He leaned back against the door. When the knocking started up again he slid down the door and pulled his knees up to his chest.

“We don’t care if you don’t want to Barr, you need to. We need to talk.” Iris’ voice sounded, his head thumped back against the door, and he knew they heard it.

“Barry.” 

“No.” Barry muttered.

“Barry, why won’t you just open up?” Eddie sounded upset. Most likely because he was the Flash and now that he had a name for the face under the mask, he was going to hate him just like the rest of the CCPD.

“Because the only thing I can do right now is tell the truth and I don’t want to tell you-” he smacked a hand up to his mouth scooting away from the door just in case they could make out what he was saying under his hand.

“What?” Eddie again. He screamed through his hands, trying not to say anything at all but failing miserably. “That’s it Allen, I’m opening this door.” Barry pushed himself further and further away from the door, hoping against hope that Eddie wouldn’t be able to get his door opened. But when the door was opened, he only wanted to scream again. Iris was standing beside Eddie, the spare key to his apartment was in her hands.

“Oh Barry.” she said softly. He could feel himself shaking with the effort to keep everything inside. He pushed himself further and further away from the door. Feeling his back bump against the couch. “Honey, it isn’t good to keep holding it in, you have to talk, you’re going to hurt yourself.” she came closer until she was able to kneel down in front of him.

He shook his head. There was no way in hell he was going to let out a single word. Not to them, there was too much he could say to ruin his friendship with them.

“Barry, please.” Eddie said. He had shut the apartment door and locked it. Now kneeling beside Iris in front of him. He shook his head even harder. Eddie sighed and reached up to pull his hands away from his mouth. Barry’s tight grip had left red marks on his cheeks. “Let it out Barry.”

And the flood gates opened.

“I’m sorry that you hate the Flash. I’m sorry that I never told either of you about it but Joe didn’t want anyone getting hurt. And I don’t want you guys hurt either. I love you, both of you. Iris I have loved you since we were eleven. Eddie, I started loving you a few months ago. Everyone at the CCPD are such assholes to me and you were the only one who wasn’t. Just like Iris was one of my only friends in school. I just want to be with the both of you so bad but I know that can’t happen.

“I know that you two don’t want to be with me. Eddie, you probably hate me now because I’m the Flash. And it's weird to want to date more than one person at a time. I know I’m weird, but can we still be friends. I don’t want to lose you two. You mean so much to me and everyone else in my life always walks away. I’m starting to believe its my fault. I push everyone I love away because they always get hurt and it’s always my fault. I just want someone to stay and love me for once.” Barry took a deep breath and let out a sob. He was still talking but you couldn’t even begin to make out what he was saying through his tears.

Eddie and Iris held him through it all until he cried himself to sleep.

 

“I guess I never realized how upset he’s been all these years.” Iris said later, once they were all curled up together on Barry’s bed. Barry in the middle.

“I never even realized he was upset. He always seems so bubbly.” Eddie almost whispered.

“Barry must have been bottling this up for years now.” Iris muttered. She felt like a terrible friend for not having noticed sooner.

“I don’t hate him. Even though he’s the Flash, I don’t hate him because of it.” Eddie said, turning to face her. Iris smiled over Barry’s shoulder.

“I know. We’ll figure everything out tomorrow. Start helping him feel better. Not letting him bottle everything up like he has been. He’s been hurting too much for far too long. It’s beyond time to change that.” Iris said softly. Eddie nodded, leaning over Barry to kiss her. When they both pulled back they leaned in to kiss Barry’s cheek.

“We’ll fix this.” Eddie sighed. 

And they would. Iris and Eddie were dead set on making Barry theirs, but first, they wanted him to feel better.


End file.
